On Holocaust Memorial Day, PACE is reflecting on the importance of remembrance by sharing the recording of a powerful event recently held in partnership with the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education. The event brought together staff, students and members of the public for an evening of conversation with Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich MBE, joined in discussion by Associate Professor Ruth-Anne Lenga OBE of UCL and Professor Gilly Carr OBE of PACE.
The discussion - now available to watch online - offered a rare opportunity to hear Mala recount her childhood experiences of persecution, survival, and resilience.
“Five and a half years in half an hour” - Mala’s early life under Nazi occupation
Mala was born in 1930 in Piotrków Trybunalski, located about 80 miles south‑west of Warsaw. As she told the audience, her early childhood had been “very pleasant,” surrounded by friends, family and school - until the Nazi invasion abruptly ended it.
Piotrków became the site of the first ghetto in Poland, fenced in with barbed wire. Jewish children were no longer allowed to attend school, and the community lived under constant fear of deportations, random shootings, and violent roundups.
During the interview Mala shares: “We had no rights at all…the Germans patrolling the ghetto could shoot anybody at will.”
Mala shared the story of her young cousin Idzia, who was hidden with her during the deportations but later disappeared after attempting to return home. Her cousin's death - unresolved and still painful - remains with her to this day.
Acts of bravery amid terror
Mala’s account demonstrates her extraordinary courage as a child. During a selection outside the ghetto, surrounded by violence and barking dogs, she approached a German officer - an act most adults would not have dared.
She told him she had been separated from her father and brother and asked to be allowed back inside. Incredibly, the request was granted - and she insisted on bringing her little cousin too. It was, as Ruth-Anne Lenga noted, an “audacious act of bravery” that saved both their lives.
Survival through Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen
Mala described being deported in cattle trucks to Ravensbrück at the age of 12, where she and others underwent forced labour, hunger, illness, and dehumanisation. Their hair was shaved upon arrival - something she recalled as stripping away their sense of self:
“We really could not recognise each other. We all looked the same. We didn’t feel human anymore.”
She was later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where the conditions were even more horrific: the smell of death, bodies piled everywhere, and disease spreading rapidly. It was there that Mala and her young cousin found refuge in a makeshift children’s barrack run by Dr Bimko and Sister Luba - a decision she believes saved their lives.
Mala contracted typhus shortly before British forces liberated Bergen-Belsen in April 1945. She remembers seeing people running toward the gates without yet understanding why: freedom had come.
Rebuilding after unimaginable loss
After the war, Mala was sent to Sweden for recovery and education, and later reunited with her brother Ben - the only other surviving member of her immediate family. She eventually settled in the United Kingdom, studied, worked as a secretary, married Maurice Tribich, and built a family of her own.
Despite having missed most of her childhood education, she later returned to study as an adult, completing O Levels, A Levels and a university degree.
Dedication to education and remembrance
Mala has spent many years speaking in schools, universities and public forums across the UK, determined to ensure that the truth of what happened is never forgotten.
“On the one hand, it’s painful. On the other, I’m keeping them alive a little bit for me.”
Her story and its impact also underscores the urgency of combating Holocaust denial, distortion and rising antisemitism. As Ruth-Anne Lenga noted during the conversation, social media has amplified hate in new and dangerous ways, making education more vital than ever.
Honouring Holocaust Memorial Day
As we mark Holocaust Memorial Day today, Mala’s story stands as a powerful call to remembrance. She closed the event by urging attendees to take responsibility for shaping a better world:
“It would be my wish that you guard against all the things that we had to suffer and somehow make the world a better place.”
PACE is honoured to share this recording so more people can hear Mala’s extraordinary story of survival, courage and hope.
This annual event has become an important part of PACE’s commitment to Holocaust education and memory. For those who wish to explore this wider legacy, we have made previous Holocaust Memorial Day events available to watch here.